Johnny and the Hurricanes is an American group of instrumental rock, founded in 1957 around Johnny Paris, near Toledo, Ohio.
This band had its first success with Crossfire in early 1959. Its members were Johnny Paris on saxophone, Dave Yorko on guitar, Lionel Butch Mattice on bass, Paul Tesluk on keyboard and Tony Kaye on drums. They were produced by Tom King. Their sound was characterized by the use of an organ, in this case a chord organ of Hammond, an innovation for the time in rock.
Then the group will release the same year Red River Rock, which will be a huge hit (fifth in the charts in 1959) and earned them their first gold record. The group will experience some other successes such as Reveille Rock or Beatnik Fly before disappearing from the musical world at the end of 1960, the commercial flops coming together like "Sheik Of Araby".
The band survived, however, until Johnny's death on May 1, 2006, with a steady rotating staff. In half a century, more than 300 musicians would have had the opportunity to play in Johnny and the Hurricanes.
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